Many people have reported having long-term changes in their general health that are now believed to be linked to having contracted Covid-19. In this post, we’re going to cover some of the symptoms of this condition that is known as long covid, and how you can help to identify them and seek treatment.
Changes In Taste And Smell
One of the most mysterious health effects caused by having had Covid-19 is the changes it can cause to a person’s taste and smell. Whilst it’s a common symptom to lose the ability to taste and smell things whilst having Covid, some people report that this doesn’t always go away after recovering from the illness.
It’s also been found to change a person’s perception of the smell and taste of food long-term even if they eventually recover their senses. Some people find that sensory exercises can help improve the ability to smell and taste things, such as aromatherapy exercises.
Shortness Of Breath
A common report of long covid is shortness of breath and difficulty maintaining previous activity levels due to difficulty breathing. This is likely due to the damage that covid-19 can cause to the lungs, such as damage to the lining and potentially the alveoli.
The symptoms tend not to be as bad as during the initial infection but can still impact day-to-day activities. Echelon Health offers long covid health screening to help you to identify treatment plans to aid in your recovery.
Memory Issues
Another symptom often reported from long covid is memory disturbances, otherwise known as brain fog. The key indication of this includes forgetfulness, issues recalling memories, confusion, and disorientation. It can also cause fatigue and low energy levels, making it difficult to carry out tasks that were previously not a problem.
This can of course impact people’s abilities to function in their everyday lives and affect things such as work performance or family life. Treatments can include performing memory exercises to help recover memory function.
Chest Pain
Sometimes commonly occurring alongside breathlessness, many people report chest pain as a common symptom of long covid. Again, this could be caused due to the damage caused to the lungs and throat during a bout of Covid.
Chest pain can often be worse due to inflammation in the lungs, so ask your doctor if they can recommend any potential treatments or medication to help soothe chest pain if you’re struggling with it.
Headaches
Lastly, many people find that long covid can cause recurring headaches they might not have previously had an issue with. It’s not currently known exactly what causes long covid headaches, but there are things you can do to help ease the discomfort.
Both aspirin and ibuprofen can help to ease the pain of a headache or if that is not enough, then you could ask your doctor for a prescribed medication that could help more.
It could be that long covid isn’t actually the cause of your headaches and that it’s just a coincidence, so be sure to eliminate other potential causes of headaches such as dehydration, over-consumption of caffeine, or exposure to digital devices.